We’re Not Sore Losers; We Just Love Our Country

Since the election, the millions of us who have been in anguish over Trump’s Electoral College win or have protested or have posted anti-Trump memes on social media have been accused by his dwindling number of supporters as being sore losers.  This is the mindset of an eighth grader, and to no surprise this accusation has come from the eight-grader-in-chief himself, Donald Trump.  #hocopolitics

Sore losers? Really??

Of course, so many of us have been stunned by the results.  We have wrung our hands over the now real scenario of someone who is so thinly informed on policy, so unstable in his personality, such a pathological liar, so thin-skinned, so narcissistic, so paranoid (he blamed the “rigged” poll takers for the historically low 32-40 percent approval ratings heading into the Inauguration), that Trump is actually the 45^th President of the U.S. 

Add to that the tainted election process because of likely Russian cyber interference and FBI chief James Comey’s own meddling that has sparked the launch of several investigations prior to Trump’s taking the oath. Then there is the popular vote differential of some 2.8 million making Trump the biggest loser to have won the Electoral College. 

I love how the Trumpsters respond by saying that’s all because of California.  Shrug off Cali if you want but that state alone represents the world’s sixth largest economy.  If we’re cutting off states from our calculations, let’s knock off the votes down the center: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.  We can play this dumb game, too.

This is not sore losing.  This isn’t about wins and losses as Trump emphasizes.  The angst is real; people are literally terrified about what may happen to this country as Trump has taken the reins.

Much of this disquiet could have been mitigated had Trump made any kind of effort to bring the country together, any kind of outreach.  Not his style. 

He would rather coddle the tyrannical Vladimir Putin, the guy who has a way of making his opponents “disappear” and expanding Russia’s already lengthy borders by force than alleviating the concerns of the American people—the majority who did not vote for him, California or not.

He could have shown more interest in attending vital Intelligence briefings than chillin’ with Kanye West.  He could have avoided a major feud with the Intelligence community resulting from their uncovering Russia’s intent to help him win the election.

He could have released his tax returns as promised and not hide behind the bogus audit as an excuse to conceal his true wealth, business entanglements with foreign governments, and the extent of his charitable contributions, just to name a few.  He could have attempted to divest his business—not hand them off to Eric and Donny Jr.—to um, drain the swamp some. 

He could have taken the high road by ignoring the comments of venerable civil rights veteran Rep. John Lewis’ assertion that Trump is not a legitimate president.  But no, thin-skinned Trump was moved to tweet out that Mr. Lewis is all talk and no action.  Look who’s talking!

He certainly could have made some form of outreach during his dark Inauguration speech to all those tens of millions of voters who opposed him. Nothing.

He could have graciously mentioned his defeated opponent Hillary Clinton during this golden opportunity.  But he lacks grace.

"He has done nothing during the transition to win over his opponents whom he refers to as enemies as dictators often do."

Trump could have made these moves but he refuses to and would rather blame the “dishonest media” for exposing him.  Instead, Trump embarked on a “rub-it-in-your-face” victory lap whereby he waxed nostalgic over how the election results rolled in on that fateful night on November 8 and shocked the pundits.  He continued to belittle his vanquished opponent as recently as this week.  And he still claims with a straight face that he won in an electoral landslide.  Good grief! 

Sore loser?  How about sore winner?

No, we are worried not only about Trump’s lack of knowledge, interest and curiosity on issues and his fingers on the nuclear codes, but also the hall of shame he has surrounded himself with. 

What a group of bigots and Russia-loving goofballs he assembled!  Very few have the experience needed to do the job they are appointed to do, and what experience they do have is scary.  The ill-suited, non-diverse individuals he has nominated to cabinet positions is akin to allowing baseball players to play football against a pro football team. In other words, they’re out of their league.

And you have the haters starting with the homophobe-in-chief VP Mike Pence and the lead anti-Semite Steve Bannon.  Everyone else falls into their rightful place.  Then there are the former generals, billionaires and bankers who relate so well with the average Trump voter. Right.

He has done nothing during the transition to win over his opponents whom he refers to as enemies as dictators often do.  And Republicans are not going to capitulate so easily—not with Trump’s favorability numbers at historic lows.  Honeymoon?  More like a looming divorce.

Trump is faced with daunting problems as he enters the office: his own inexperience and lack of gravitas; an extreme right wing cabinet and cabal of advisers; multiple investigations that, if allowed to continue, I believe will produce explosive findings; serious and perhaps illegal conflicts of interests; a bitterly divided country; a squandered transition in which he exacerbated the divide, an ungracious Inaugural speech, and so on.

Call us sore losers if you want.  We just love our country and will try to get it back.  “Make America America Again” should be our slogan. 

Now to find some blue hats to put that on.